XJT MEC declares war on ASA pilots.

[Clutch]

So, as an ASA pilot, I have to ask... when does this "war" on the XJT MEC start, cuz there's nothing on TV...?

 

[79%N1]

I will paper bid before I vote on anything with "Globalization". Sounds like something Obama cooked up.

 

[No Delay]

How do you get "in the know"? I never hear anything

 

[dojetdriver]

First off, this information is available to ALL pilots that can access ALPA. It's just FACTUAL information. Or you can contact your reps and get the FACTUAL information. Not like it matter, morons like the OP would rather just spew ignorant information, or just simply not read the information presented to them. And for the ERJ side of the house that seems to think they know EVERYTHING there is to know about globalization, well, maybe you don't know all that much sometimes;

Vendor: Flightline (a subsidiary of Sabre Airline Solutions)
Program: PrefBid (A product of Flightline)
Currently in use at: ASA, Republic, GoJet, Virgin America, and AirTran
Source of Research:
• Meeting with the Flightline development team
• Discussions and interactions with the ASA PWG
• In-depth evaluation of program using ExpressJet schedule and pairing data
Basic Description:
Flightline is a non-globalized system. Pilots input their preferences, and the person who is running the builder can sort pairings within those preferences to create better results for the entire solution. Because the system is non-globalized and considers only each pilot individually, fast run times can allow many runs to be done with different sorting to obtain the best possible results.
Analysis:
Flightline has a number of issues that would make it difficult to implement for the pilots of ExpressJet. Some of those issues are:
• Inability to create viable solution in challenging months
• Necessity to "game the system" to maximize days off
• Pre-assigned events result in "lucky lineholders/unlucky reserves"
• Excessive amount of time, resources, and manual work to complete bid runs by both the union and the company
Explanation:
A dichotomy exists in our pilot group; there are some pilots that want the maximum time off possible (including those with vacation), and those who want or need to maximize their hours. In addition, because there is such a wide variety in the pairings at the regional level (4 days ranging from 28 hours to 10 hours of credit, etc.) it can be difficult to build schedules conforming to a narrow credit window. Therefore it is necessary for the PBS to have a wide range of acceptable credit times. The ASA pilot group has negotiated that the acceptable credit
window will be no less than 30 hours. The use of the "vacation low" function further expands the bottom of the credit window.
The wide credit window, coupled with the non-globalization creates a difficult problem. Because the system only looks at each bidder individually and not the overall solution, there is no way to make adjustments in the middle of the seniority list during a bid run; crew members at all seniority levels receive equal treatment. In a high flying month, this means that rather than senior bidders having the option to fly a lower time schedule, everyone is forced into a high credit line except those with vacation. The 30 hour credit window is meaningless when the bottom of the window is set at 90 hours. The system as implemented at ASA preserves time off for vacation, at everyone else’s expense.
Another undesirable aspect of the Flightline system is the need to "Game the System" to get extra days off. The Flightline system is fundamentally a pairing sorter, and at the risk of oversimplifying, assumes that pilots want to work. There is no way for a pilot to tell the Flightline system that they would like no less than 15 days off. They would instead have to bid only the pairings that when combined will give 15 days off. The pilot must foresee not only how those pairings will combine, but also what will be available at their seniority to have success. This problem is particularly accentuated for bidders seeking day trips, and even more so during vacation months. This also results in additional days off being awarded not in seniority order, but by those who "gamed the system" best.
Additional seniority issues exist within the Flightline system. As the program approaches the junior lineholders, there are fewer trips to work with. At times, because of a vacation, training event, or other leave, it will be impossible to combine those trips and "pre-assigned credits" into a legal line, so that bidder will be forced into reserve. Conversely, a bidder with the same event at a different time during the month may be awarded a line, even though numerous senior bidders were forced to reserve. This creates the concept of "lucky lineholders/unlucky reserves", which directly violates seniority.
Finally, one of the aspects that Sabre touts in the Flightline product is that fast run times allow the company and the union to be able to rerun the bid to get better results. In practice, however, run times have been long enough that multiple people have been using multiple computers in an attempt to create additional bid runs before lines are due to be awarded. The ASA PWG has reported, and this committee has observed some run times in excess of 7 hours, severely limiting the opportunity to create additional bid runs.
Additionally, the committee believes the rebuild process is fundamentally flawed. In between bid runs, nothing changes. There is the same flying, the same number of pilots, the same pilot requests. When you put all of those variables together, there is a single solution which best meets as many of those requests as possible. The Flightline process counts on the company or the union trying to find that ideal solution. In each bid run, some requests are better met than others. The committee’s preference would be to use an award logic that best meets as many
requests as possible, a single optimum solution instead of one that meets the goals of the person running the software.
The software, logic, and seniority issues inherent with the Flightline PBS are not likely to be surmountable. Although the Flightline development team worked with the ASA PWG to create a system that worked for their pilots and contained significant improvements over their previous scheduling arrangement, the committee does not feel that it would be possible to repeat those gains or even maintain the current quality of life for the ExpressJet pilot group with this software.

 

[dojetdriver]

2. Line improvement process: if I understand it properly it's a 24 hour free for all. No seniority at all. The guys who log at 12:01am on the bidding day are favored.

Look at the post I made concerning the ASA PBS system. Does it honor seniority? If you can say "yes it does, 100% of the time without exceptions", I'd like to see how it does.

Otherwise the point your making above isn't relevant at all.

 

[GeekMaster]

Look at the post I made concerning the ASA PBS system. Does it honor seniority? If you can say "yes it does, 100% of the time without exceptions", I'd like to see how it does.

Otherwise the point your making above isn't relevant at all.

Yes flightline honors seniority 100% of the time without exception. The event that the XJT scheduling committee refers to is the high TLVs or line values. It is their contention that seniority is not honored by making senior guys fly higher credit so that junior guys can have longer vacations.

It is ASA's contention that the true fix to that problem isn't to trash the system but instead gain more control over the bottom of the window.

 

[Dannone]

Why am I learning more on this website than I am hearing from the ASA MEC or management for that matter? It took Joe merchant to start another thread to get this conversation started? Actually one of the more intelligent threads I have seen for the most part, no thanks to the title. Why can't management communicate better? As far as the ASA MEC has anyone heard form any of the leadership on the ASA side beside the standard e-mails which say nothing? Time we start getting factual info to both groups before things get too out of hand. Ya know, it is not us v them, or lifers v those moving on either. I still consider myself a guy moving on but, after 12 years I have not been able to. Who knows if I will be able to or not? I would like to have some sort of life if I do stay. We need LEADERSHIP!!!! It starts with communication, simple enough. No way we can compete with the bottom feeders unless we can take advantage of economies of scale and we can't do that as well by being separate!!

 

[ace6453]

Yes flightline honors seniority 100% of the time without exception. The event that the XJT scheduling committee refers to is the high TLVs or line values. It is their contention that seniority is not honored by making senior guys fly higher credit so that junior guys can have longer vacations.

It is ASA's contention that the true fix to that problem isn't to trash the system but instead gain more control over the bottom of the window.

No it doesn't. It does at the top but as you approach the bottom of the list people without vacation may not be able to complete a schedule, while the bottom person may have vacation with AQP and only need 1 trip and they are awarded a line. Not saying I disagree with letting the poor reserve guy get lots of days off one month of the year, (instead of the BS vacation on reserve, what a joke) but to say it honors seniority 100% of the time is a complete lie.

 

[Freebrd]

How do you get "in the know"? I never hear anything

why you just log onto flight info and get yourself "in the know",you know

 

[dojetdriver]

Yes flightline honors seniority 100% of the time without exception. The event that the XJT scheduling committee refers to is the high TLVs or line values. It is their contention that seniority is not honored by making senior guys fly higher credit so that junior guys can have longer vacations.

OK, here you're saying that it DOES honor seniority 100%.

It is ASA's contention that the true fix to that problem isn't to trash the system but instead gain more control over the bottom of the window.

Here you're saying a problem exists, ASA knows about it, and it needs to be fixed somehow.

So which is it?